


Not Your Average Cultivation Genius

by Starrie_Wolf



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cultivation AU, Don't copy to another site, Gen, SportsFest 2019 Bonus Round 4 fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 04:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20352190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starrie_Wolf/pseuds/Starrie_Wolf
Summary: Oikawa Tohru is not a cultivation genius.At every gathering of the sects, he stands out like a sore thumb, the only mid-Core Foundation amidst a collection of late-Core Foundation leaders.But Seijoh Mountain Sect stands at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, and even the other top sects jostle for a chance to send their best disciples to Seijoh for further training.





	Not Your Average Cultivation Genius

**Author's Note:**

> Written for DreamWidth user littlerain  
Prompt:  
[The brush that strokes a fan can be used to steer the winds and thunders](https://sportsfest.dreamwidth.org/22755.html?thread=2958307#cmt2958307)  
[Stealing a soul without bloodshed](https://sportsfest.dreamwidth.org/22755.html?thread=2958307#cmt2958307)  
\- Trials of a Troubled Swan, a MoDao ZuShi fansong
> 
> If you ask me how did this come out this way, I can only say - I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know.  
:snaps fan:

Seijoh Mountain Sect is not a place for geniuses.  
  
“That’s only because you’re not a cultivation genius, Assikawa,” Iwaizumi points out.  
  
Oikawa glares at his sworn brother. “Well, I’m the Sect Leader, and I don’t want to accept this, this Tobirama Kagerou –”  
  
“Kageyama Tobio,” Iwaizumi corrects in a long-suffering tone, slanting a look at Oikawa like he doesn’t believe Oikawa can’t remember a simple name but is just too _done_ to call him out on it.  
  
Oikawa does.  
  
He also knows the names of all of little Tobio-chan’s fourteen cousins, his favourite food, the fact that his first choice was Shiratorizawa, and his choice of topic for the Shiratorizawa entrance exams.  
  
“His music is insipid, his paintings uninspired, and his poetry! He miswrote so many characters that if we were to accept him, he’ll be copying lines from the dictionary from dawn to dusk!”  
  
Iwaizumi smothers a laugh.  
  
“In other words,” he interprets drily, “you might be powerful, but go and make trouble for some other sect.” He shakes his head. “You really do have a disgusting personality, Sect Leader Oikawa.”  
  
Oikawa doesn’t deign to acknowledge that insult. He tosses the application scroll into the _reject_ pile, already planning which of his disciples he could task to scribe the rejection letters.  
  
Right on cue, the dining hall bell tolls, announcing that the morning congee is ready. Oikawa sweeps out of his office, his carefully-tailored white-and-turquoise robes billowing behind him the exact way he’s practised in front of the mirror, his azure-leaf-patterned fan tucked securely into his sash.  
  


* * *

  
Oikawa Tohru is not a cultivation genius.  
  
That isn’t a fact he can hide: at every gathering of the sects, he stands out like a sore thumb in the VIP podium, the only mid-Core Foundation amidst a collection of late-Core Foundation leaders.  
  
But this hasn’t made Seijoh Mountain Sect lose any of its prestigious standing. If anything, it’s only made Seijoh more attractive to budding cultivators without the benefit of a family name to back them up.  
  
_Look at Seijoh_, they say. _Look at how masterfully the Great King of the Mountains commands it, even without the benefit of an advanced cultivation state!_  
  
“Why do other people get cool epithets and I sound like a dictator?!” Oikawa whines to Iwaizumi. And then he pre-emptively snaps his fan open, catching the brunt of Iwaizumi’s irritated kick on the spine. Steel-threaded, because unlike some _other_ sect leaders, Oikawa sees no point in wasting his _qi_ on weaponising innocent paper fans when he can just carry around decorative war fans instead.  
  
“Because you are one,” Iwaizumi tells him, rolling his eyes. He doesn’t even look apologetic. “Now hurry up, the morning sword drills are about to start.”  
  
Oikawa huffs, but he starts walking again, Iwaizumi at his side.  
  
All around them, disciples bow in greeting, even the ones that are on exchange from other sects. They know better than to antagonise the Sect Leader of Seijoh, for all that he may seem less powerful at first glance compared to their own sect leaders. After all, there’s a reason Oikawa is the leader of one of the premier sects, a reason why even the other top sects jostle for a chance to send their best disciples to Seijoh for further training.  
  
No one is more aware of this than those disciples, who have all witnessed Oikawa in action, be it calling on each of them by name on the first day, nonchalantly dropping intimate details into casual conversation, or pointing out the flaws in their secret final techniques after a glance.  
  
No, Oikawa Tohru may not be a cultivation genius, but overwhelming power alone is not the only way to carve out a niche in this world.

**Author's Note:**

> [Bonus art by littlerain](https://sportsfest.dreamwidth.org/20061.html?thread=3017053#cmt3017053)
> 
> [My Fic Discord](https://discord.gg/8yJVmbD) | [My Tumblr](http://starriewolf.tumblr.com/)


End file.
